Apparatus for blanching peas.



- I PATENTED OUT. 6, 1903. H.. D. HUTGHESON. APPARA'IUSv FOR BLANCHINGPEAS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 21, 1901.

41mm 1. PI

no MODEL.

WITNESSES:

a4 TTORNEYS.

No. 740,758. PATENTED OCT. 6; 1903..

H. 11. HUTGHESON. APPARATUS P0P BLANCHING PEAS.

APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 21, 1901.

no MODEL. 4 SHEETS-SHEET z.

a P q u No. 740,758., I PATENTED OCT. 6,1903.

H. D. HUTGHESON.

APPARATUS PORBLANGHING PEAS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 21 1901.

N0 MODEL. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

I V V V L T 3 j g WITNESSES:

BY." 0a '2 z/I TTORNE Y5.

PATENTED OCT. 6,1903.

vH. HU TGHESON. APPARATUS FOR BLAN-GHINGPEAS.

APPLIGATION FILED SEPT. 21, 1901.

4, SHEETS-SHEET 4. 7

R0 MODEL.

(ATTORNEYS. I

WITNESSES:

Tn: norms FCTEBSUCD. Moro-mun wmnmnrou, a 1:.

No. 740,758. I

NITED STATES iatented October 6, 1903-.

PATENT O FICE.

APPARATUS FOR BLANCHING PEAS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 740,7 58, datedOctober 6, 1903. 7 Application filed September 21. 1901. Serial in.75,006. on an 7 T0 at whont it may concern:

Beit known that I, HERMAN D. Horsemen, of Newark, in the county ofWayne, in the State of New York,have invented new and usefullmprovementsin Apparatus for Blanching Peas, of which the following, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for blanching peasand other similar vegetables. 7

The object of this invention is to provide means for automatically andcontinuously blanching or parboiling peas and similar vegetables,whereby the peas are distributed evenly over a suitable carrier and thenconveyed through a steam-containing vat for uniformly blanching orparboiling the same.

Another object is to so construct and arrange the parts of the machineas to convey different grades of the peas through the blanching fluid atdifierent rates of speed, whereby the peas of each grade are subjectedto the blanchingprocess for different periods of time, according to thegrade of the peas.

A further object is to provide means for washing the peas on thecarriers during their movement, either before or after subjecting thepeas to the blanching process, or both before and after the peas areblanched.

Another object of this invention is to provide an elevator for eachcarrier for conveying each particular grade of peas to its respectivecarrier.

A still further object is to arrange a suitable screen-agitator at thedischarge end of the carrier for receiving the peas and discharging thesame into any desired form of receptacle provided for the peas.

To this end the invention consists in the combination, construction, andarrangements of the parts of a pea-blanching machine, as hereinafterfully described, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figures 1- and 2' are respectively a sideelevation and top plan of my improved machine for blanching peas,portions of the vat being broken away in Fig. l for disclosing theinclined bottom wall of the vat and a portion of the carrier travelingthrough the blanching fluid. Fig. 3 is an enlarged top plan oftheright-hand end of the device seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the elevators andwater-feeding pipes being omitted, and showing particularly the feedingmechanism for the carriers. Fig. 4. is an enlarged sectional view takenon line 4 at of Fig. 1 looking in the direction indicated by the arrowx, the upwardly-inclining portion of the carrier being broken away andthe rear supportingidlers for 'the carrier being omitted. Fig. 5 is anenlarged top plan of the ends of the adjacent sections of one of thecarriers, showing particularly the means for securing said sectionstogether and also showing the supporting-rollers, portions of thecarrier-chains, and the track or ways upon which said rollers ride. Fig.6 is a sectional view taken on lined 6 of Fig. 5. carrier-drivin gmechanism, showing the rela tive sizes of the driving-wheels foredecting the diiferential speeds of the various carriers. Fig. 8 is asectional view taken on line 8 8 of Fig. 3. Fig. 9 is a perspective viewof one of the detached' sections of one of *the carriers. Fig. 10 is alengthwise sectional view through the screen-agitator, showing the meansfor moving the screen endwise.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all theviews.

As seen in the drawings, this inventioncon- Fig. 7 is a top plan of thedetached sists, essentially, of a vat or receptacle 1, containing steamor other pea-blanching fluid, carriers 2, 3, and 4c for conveying thepeas or similar vegetables through the blanching fluid, suitable drivingmechanism for actuating the carriers at different rates of speed, andmeans for washing the peas on the carriers during their movement to andfrom the vat. The vat 1 may be of any desired form, size, orconstruction, provided with a bottom wall 5 and side and end walls 6 and7, the bottom wall 5 being extended between the side and end walls andhaving its intermediate portion depressed beneath its opposite ends andprovided with a discharge-opening 8, communicating with adischarge-conduit 9. tom wall 5 inclines downwardly from its oppositeends toward the outlet-opening S for the purpose of depositing thesediment or The bottables.

a suitable valve 10, connecting the opening 8 with the conduit 9. Thisvat 1 is provided with a supplemental bottom wall 11, forming a portionof the framework of the vat, which is usually mounted upon legs orstandards 12 and is preferably formed of wood, while the bottom wall 5is preferably formed of metal, which facilitatesthe gravitation of thesediment toward the opening 8 and is better adapted to resist the actionof the steam or other blanching fluid which may be employed in theprocess of blanching peas or other vege- The carriers 2, 3, and 4 aresimilar in construction, being arranged side by side and adapted totravel in the same direction. These carriers preferably consist ofendless belts,each of which are mounted upon suitable endless chains 13,supported at the opposite ends of the vat upon idlers or sprocket-wheels14. Eachof the carriers 2, 3, and 4 is made up of a series ofsheet-metal sections 15, linked together at their adjacent ends bysuitable rods 16, each section having a perforated supporting-wall l7and outwardly-projecting side walls 18, the perforated bottom Walls 17being adapted to receive and support the peas or other vegetables, andthe perforations facilitate the drainage of the water or blanching fluidfrom the peas during both the process of washing and blanching the same.The side walls 18 serve to hold the peas or other vegetables fromlateral displacement from the perforated walls 17 during the movement ofthe carriage from one end of the machine to the other, the front andrear edges of side walls of each of the sections being inclinedoutwardly from each other, and the adjacent ends of the sides of thesections overlap each other. It is thus evident that as the carriertravels over the sprocket-wheels and downwardly through the blanchingfluid the adjacent ends of the side walls of the sections slide one uponthe other, thus forming a flexible belt, and the end edges of the saidside walls are inclined sufficiently to prevent the edges fromseparating or opening during the movement of the carrier through theblanching fluid and over its supporting sprocketwheels. r

In order to facilitate the movement of each of the carriers and toreduce the friction incidental to their movements, I provide each of theopposite ends of each of the pivotal rods 16 With suitable rollers 20,which are arranged to ride upon oppositely arranged tracks 21,interposed between the end carriersupporting idlers 14. The adjacentends of each of the sections of each of the carriers are provided withloops or eyes 22, which receive the rod 16 and .permit the sections tomove relatively to each other upon said'rod during the travel of thecarrier. The rear ends of each of these sections are also provided withoutwardly-projecting arms 23, which are usually formed integral with theperforated bottom wall 17 and alternate with the eyes or loops 22 oftheir respective sections.- In the formation of each of these sectionstheir rear ends are provided with a series of lengthwise slits extendinginwardly from their rear edges for forming a'series of tongues,alternate tongues being bent to form the loops 22 and the remainingtongues being bent outwardly to form the arms 23. The front ends of eachof the sections 14 are similarly slit inwardly from their front edgesfor forming a series of tongues, each alternate tongue being bent toform loops 22, alined with the arms 23, the remaining tongues at theforward ends of the sections being removed or cut away to receive theloops of the next adjacent section. These loops and tongues of thevarious sections of each carrier are so formed that when the sectionsare assembled the arms of one section are alined with the spaces betweenthe arms of the next adjacent section, this arrangement serving tofacilitate or insure the continuous conveying of the peas from the timethey are deposited upon the frontend of the carrier until they aredischarged at the rear end of the apparatus.

As previously stated, the opposite ends of the endless carriers aremounted upon the sprockets 14, which are journaled on the frame of theapparatus at the opposite ends of the vat 1,the intermediate upperportion ofthe chain being depressed into the vat and is held in thisposition partially by its own gravity, but mainly by a suitable idler,as sprocket-s 24, there being one of these idlers for each of the chains13. I preferably employ two chains for each of the carriers, one at eachside, which are passed over the idlers 14, and being connected to thesections of the carrier, as previously described, serve as a convenientflexible support for tying the carrier-sections together, it beingunderstood that the links of the chain 13 adjacent to the ends of theseveral sections of the carrier are provided with apertured cars 25,which receive the opposite ends of the rods 16, the rollers 20 beingjournaled on said rod between the ears 25 and theadjacent side walls ofthe carrier-sections. I preferably provide a pair of tracks or guides 21for each of the carriers, these tracks being supported at their oppositeends in proximity to the opposite ends of the vat and preferably inclinedownwardly toward the center of the vat for supporting the upper portionof the carrier and cooperate with the rollers 20 to reduce the frictionof the carrier during its movement through the blanching fluid ot thevat.

The sprocket-idlers 24 may be supported in any desired manner, the outeridlers being secured to the side walls of the vat and the intermediateidlers being revolubly mounted upon suitable standards, as 26,projecting upwardly from the bottom wall of the said vat atsubstantially its lowest point.

In order that the peas may be thoroughly washed both before and afterleaving the blanching-vat, I preferably provide suitable water-supplyconduits 27, having branch conduits 28 discharging into hoppers 29,arranged at the opposite ends of the vat immediately above the adjacentportions of the carriers, said adjacent portions of the carriers beingslightly depressed or dished beneath the hoppers '29 for facilitatingthe thorough washing of the peas or other vegetables on the carrierduiingits movement. The means for depressing the opposite ends of theupper portion of the carriers preferably consists of sprocket-idlers 30,journaled on the support-' ing-frame of the apparatus and engaged withthe chains 13 in such manner as to hold said opposite ends of the chainand the carrier connected thereto in the depressed position justdescribed without interrupting the movement of the carrier. Mounted uponthe frame or in any other desired manner are additional hoppers orconductors 31, which are arranged beneath the depressed portions at theopposite ends of the carrier to receive the water and refuse passingthrough the perforated bottom walls of the carrier and conveying thesame to any desired locality away from the machine.

I preferably employ steam in the vat l as a blanching fluid, which steammay be introduced into any desired portion of the vat through theconduit 32, said conduit being connected to a steam-generatingapparatus, not necessary to herein illustrate or describe, it beingunderstood that this steam is introduced into the'vat for the purpose ofblanching or parboiling the peas or other vegetables which may beconveyed through the-vat upon the carriers 2, 3, and 4. The vat l isalso adapted to support a body of water, into which the depressedintermediate portion of the upper part of the carrier is immersed duringits travel from one end of the machine to the other, this water beingheated to the boiling-point by steam and afiords an efficient means forblanching the peas or other vegetables conveyed therethrough upon thecarriers. i

Any desired number of carriers may be employed or used in connectionwith the vat 1, and I have here shown three of the carriers, theconstruction of which has been previously described,each of which ismoved at a diflerent rate of speed than the other, the carrier 2 beingmovable at a greater speed than the carrier 3 and the carrier 3 beingmovable at a greater speed than the carrier 4, although it is evidentthat this arrangement may be varied without departing from the spirit ofthis invention.

As seen in the drawings, particularly in Fig. 7, the driving mechanismfor effecting this difierential-speed movement of the carriers consistsof a driving-pulley 33, having its shaft or spindle provided with apinion 34, which meshes with a gear 35 upon a shaft 36, arrangedtransversely of the movement of the carriers. This shaft 36 is providedwith a series of sprocket-wheels 37, one for each carrier, which areconnected by sprocket chains 38 to sprocket-wheels 39, 40, and 41 ofdifferent diameters, these latter sprocketwheels 39, 40, and 41 beingmounted upon independent shafts or spindles 42, 43, and 44, each ofwhich spindles carries a pair of supporting sprocket-wheels 14 fordriving its respective carrier.

As seen in the drawings, the pulley 33 is provided with a series ofbelt-faces of unequal diameter, which enables the machine to be run atdifferent speeds and is connected to move the carriers at any desiredspeed, which is determined by the quality or grade of peas or othervegetables to be treated, the ratio of the movement of the severalcarriers relatively to each other being the same, and is also determinedby the grade of peas or other vegetables to be treated, no matter whatthe speed of movement of the driving-pulley33 may be.

blanching difierent grades of peas, the size of the sprockenwheel 39 isless than the sprocketwheel 40 and that of the sprocket-wheel 40 is lessthan the sprocket-wheel 41, and it-is evident, therefore, that thesesprockets being driven from the driving-wheels of the same diameter thecarrier 2 will be moved at a greater rate of speed than the carrier 3and the carrier 3 will be moved at a greater rate of speed than thecarrier 4, the grade of peas being treated upon the carrier 2 beingsubjected to the blanching process a less period of time than the gradeupon the carrier 3, and in like manner the grade of peas conveyed to thevat by the carrier4 is subjected to the blanching treatment for agreater period of time than the grade upon the carrier 3.

It is evident from the foregoing description that this treatment of thepeas is continuous and that difierent grades of peas are treatedaccording to their requirements automatically and continuously. Anydesired means may be employed for feeding the diiferent grades of peasto their respective carriers; but I preferably employ suitable elevators45, 46, and 47, these elevators being of the usual chain-and-bucket typeand are each connected to the driving mechanism of its respective carrier in such manner as to feed the peas or other vegetables upon itsrespective carrier in proportion to the speed of the movement of saidcarriers, it being understood that these elevators are arranged todischarge upon the forward ends of their respective carriers inproximity to the hoppers 29. 1

At the rear end of the machine I provide a series ofreciprocally-movable screens l8, one for each carrier, for receiving theseparate grade of peas conveyed by each carrier, these screen-agitatorsbeing inclined downwardly from their forward ends and are adapted to,

discharge into any suitable-receptacle. (Not illustrated, but which isadapted to be placed at the mouth of the screen.) Any desired means maybe employed for reciprocating r In order to effect this differentialmovement of the carriers for treating or this screen, such as aneccentric 49 and a connecting-rod 50, the eccentric 49 being 4 actuatedbya belt 49, driven from the shaft of one of the sprocket-wheels 14,although it is evident that any other means may be employed foreffecting the-longitudinal movement of the screen.

In order to concentrate the heat of the water and steam to the portionsof the carriers immersed therein and to thereby expedite the process ofblanching the peas or similar vegetables, I provide a suitable shield orconfiningplate 60 for each of the carriers,these shields orconfining-plates being fixed to the frame and are arranged immediatelyabove the intermediate depressed portions of the carriers between theirside walls, thus forming a substantially closed trough or conduitimmersed in the Water and steam through which the peas are conveyed bytheir respective carriers, it being understood that these plates followthe dip or inclination of the portions of their respective carriers,which are depressed into the fluid in the vat.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The different grades ofpeas or other vegetables are placed in their respective elevators andare conveyed thereby to the corresponding carriers 2, 3, and 4, which inturn convey the peas through the blanching'fluid in the vat 1,discharging same at their rear ends onto the screens 48. Immediatelyafter the peas have been discharged upon their respective carriers andbefore passing to the blanching fluid they are thoroughly washed uponthe carriers with water discharged into the hoppers 29, which carries 0%the sediment through the perforated bottom walls of the carriers intothe hopper 31, from which it may be conveyed to any desired locality. Inlike manner the peas are washed after passing through the blanchingfluid by means of the water discharged from the rear hoppers 29, therear hopper 31 serving to carry off the refuse.

The operation of my invention will now be readily understood uponreference to the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings,and it will be noted that considerable change may be made in the meansfor moving the carriers at different rates of speed and that some changemay be made in the detailed construction and arrangement of parts of thevat and the carriers without departing from the spirit of thisinvention. Therefore I do not limit myself to the precise combination,construction, and arrangement herein shown and describedas, forinstance, the side walls of the several belt-sections may be perforatedsimilar to the bottom wall, and the top wall or plate may also beperforated.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. An apparatus for blanching peas, comprising a vat adapted to containa blanching fluid, a carrier for the peas moving continu-' ously throughthe fluid, means to actuate the carrier, a conveyor arranged todischarge the peas on the carrier, and means in proximity to thedischarge end of the conveyor for washing the peas immediately afterthey are onto the upper portion of the carrier at both ends of thedepressed portion.

3. In a pea-blanching machine, a vat adapted to contain a blanchingfluid, an endless perforated carrier having its central portiondepressed into the vat for conveying the peas through the blanchingfluid, means for producing depressions in the upper portion of thecarrier near its opposite ends, conduits for discharging a washingliquid into the latter depressions, and means to actuate the carrier.

4. In a pea-blanching maehine,a vat adapted to contain a blanchingfluid, a carrier arranged to convey the peas through the fluid, meansfor washing the peas on the carrier during its movement, and additionalmeans to depress the carrier at the Washing-point for the purposedescribed.

5. An apparatus for blanching peas comprising a vat adapted to contain ablanching fluid, a plurality of carriers movable through the fluid atdifferent rates of speed, and means for actuating the carriers.

6. An apparatus for blanching peas comprising avat adapted to contain ablanching fluid, endless carriers arranged side by side and travelinginsubstantially the same planes for conveying the peas through the fluid,means to move the carriers at diflerent rates of speed, and, means forwashing the peas on all the carriers simultaneously during theirmovement.

7. In a pea-blanching machine, the combination with a steam-containingvat, an endless carrier having the central and opposite end portionsthereof depressed, the central portion dipping into the vat for thepurpose described, means for discharging the washing fluid into the enddepressions, a track or way for the central depressed portion of the IIOcarrier, and means to move the carrier continuously in one direction.

8. A machine for blanching peas comprising a vat adapted to contain ablanching fluid, a carrier for conveying the peas through the fluid,means to actuate the carrier, a shield or confining-plate above and inproximity to the carrier, and means to discharge steam into the vatbeneath the carrier and confining-plate so that the steam or heatedfluid percolates through the carrier to the peas and is confined by saidplate to quickly blanch the peas. A

9. In a pea-blanching machine, the combination with a steam and watercontaining vat having a bottom provided with a discharge-opening, anendless carrier movable through the steam and water in the vat andhaving a perforated bottom wall and side Walls projecting therefrom, ashield or confining-plate above the perforated wall betweenthe sidewalls of the carrier to form an openended conduit, means at oppositeends of the plate or shield for washing the peas on the carrier duringits movement before and after entering the conduit, and means forconveying the peas to the carrier.

10. An apparatus for blanching peas comprising a vat adapted to containa blanching fluid, endless carriers arranged side by side movable atdifferent ratesof speed for .conveying dilierent grades of peas throughthe blanching fluid, means connected to actuate said carriers, andadditional conveyers movable at difierent rates of speed for feeding thedifferent grades of peas to their respective carriers in proportion totheir respective carrying capacities.

In witness whereof I have hereunto setmy hand this 16th day ofSeptember, 1901.

, HERMAN D. HUTCHESON.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH GILBERT, NELLIE B. HUTCHESON.

